Volume 62 Issue 2 February 2012

The actress behind the Spirit of Ecstasy, the mascot on every Rolls-Royce, and other women who have inspired famous emblems.

For centuries King John has been regarded as the embodiment of an evil ruler. But, says Graham E. Seel, this image is largely the creation of monastic chroniclers with an axe to grind. A close examination of contemporary records reveals a more nuanced character.

As the debate continues on the causes of last summer’s English Riots, Michael Roberts examines previous attempts by reformers to address moral malaise and social breakdown.

With Italy on the brink of financial collapse and in deep political crisis, the country’s 150th anniversary has been a dramatic one. It is especially timely, then, to take stock of new research into this most contradictory and enigmatic of countries.

Robin Whitlock asks if studies of the decline of societies such as that of Easter Island can shed light on contemporary concerns.

Hitler's future companion was born in Munich on February 6th 1912.

John Herschel Glenn Jr was the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20th 1962.

Otto I was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope John XII on February 2nd 962.

Roger Hudson explains the story behind a 19th-century photograph of George Washington's mausoleum.

Fundamentalism has become the face of Islam in the West. It was not always so and need not be in the future, says Tim Stanley.